Education for Sustainable Development: UN Decade, UNECE Strategy and UNEP

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Education for Sustainable Development UN
Decade, UNECE Strategy and UNEP

• Victoria Elias
• European ECO-Forum / ECO-Accord
• Russia

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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

• Definition?
• Agreed understanding?
• Developing Concept
• From Education to Learning
• Formal, informal, non-formal, continuing
  education, awareness, life-long learning
• Interdisciplinary approach
• Interaction and cooperation between a teacher and
  a student, discussion, learning from experience

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Milestones on the Road to ESD

• 1972 Stockholm Conference
• 1975 Belgrade Charter on EE (UNEP/UNESCO)
• 1977 ?bilisi Conference on Environmental
  Education
• 1987 Moscow Consultation on EE
• 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
  Development (Earth Summit), Agenda 21
• 1996 (1998 amended) UN CSD International
  program of work on education, public awareness
  and professional training
• 1997 Thessaloniki Declaration
• 2002 WSSD
• 2003 -2004 UNECE Strategy on ESD (decision by
  Ministers of Environment, Kiev-2003) / approved
  by the CEP
• March 2005 UNECE High Level Meeting (Env. and
  Education Ministers)
• 2005 2014 UN Decade on ESD

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UN Decade on ESD

• June September 2002 Decade proposed and
  supported
• 20 December 2002 UN General Assembly Resolution
  57/254
• International Implementation Scheme
• Summer 2003 Draft International
  Implementation Scheme
• September 2003 January 2004 Consultations
  with governments and interested stakeholders
• October 2004 International Implementation
  Scheme
• Recommendations to national governments on
  incorporation of ESD into national plans and
  strategies on education

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Vision UN Decade on ESD

• The basic vision of the DESD is a world where
  everyone has the opportunity to benefit from
  education and learn the values, behaviour and
  lifestyles required for a sustainable future and
  for positive societal transformation.

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UN Decade on ESD five objectives

• Give an enhanced profile to the central role of
  education and learning in the common pursuit of
  sustainable development
• Facilitate links and networking, exchange and
  interaction among stakeholders in ESD
• Provide a space and opportunity for refining and
  promoting the vision of, and transition to
  sustainable development through all forms of
  learning and public awareness
• Foster increased quality of teaching and learning
  in education for sustainable development
• Develop strategies at every level to strengthen
  capacity in ESD.

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ESD Components

• From Education to Learning
• Professional education and re-training
• Developing skills
• Defining values
• Public awareness and enlightenment
• understanding sustainability
• improving quality of life
• minimising risks

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ESD characteristics

• Interdisciplinary and holistic (the whole
  curriculum, not as a separate subject)
• Values-driven
• Critical thinking and problem solving (leading
  to confidence in addressing the dilemmas and
  challenges of SD)
• Multi-method
• Participatory decision-making(learners
  participate in decisions on how they are to
  learn)
• Locally relevant (addressing local as well as
  global issues)

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UN Decade on ESDgoals

• Integrate SD in education systems at all levels
• Support education as a basis for sustainable
  society
• Strengthen international cooperation to develop
  innovative ESD policies, programmes and practices

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UN Decade on ESDImplementation

• depend on the strength of stakeholder commitment
  and cooperation at ALL levels.
• Networks and alliances - forging a common agenda
  in relevant forums.
• at national level High-quality ESD Hub and
  Multi-stakeholder ESD Consultative Group
• at the regional and international levels an ESD
  Caucus and DESD Inter-Agency Coordination
  Committee
• High-profile international group of ESD Champions

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Monitoring and evaluation

• stakeholder groups at each level to decide
  specific indicators and the kinds of data needed
  to verify them.
• Resources full account must be taken of existing
  programmes and available personnel. (The need
  for additional - to be driven by the need for
  action on specific ESD challenges and issues.)
• Linkages between local, national, regional,
  international levels, and DESD and other
  initiatives (CSD, EFA, etc) also to be
  addressed in UNEP WP.

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UN Decade on ESDmain target areas

• Developing and improvement of basic education
• Reorientation of education at all levels for SD
• Broadening public understanding of sustainability
• Professional training
• UNESCO Priorities
• Education for All (focus at school)
• Literacy
• Water resources
• UNEP Priorities?
• Strengthen ESD Environmental Pillar?
• Developing a universal language/ toolkits?
• Revive Tbilisi principles?
• GEO for education?

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UNECE Strategy on ESD

• 1999 - European Charter on EE proposed by Ukraine
  for Kiev-2003
• 2000 UNECE Strategy on ESD proposed by the
  European ECO-Forum
• July 2002 Sweden and Russia took the lead
• May 2003 Ministerial Statement on ESD
• 2002 2005 UNECE Strategy on ESD development
  and adoption
• From 2005 example for similar process in
  South-East Asia and Africa (by UNESCO)

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UNECE Strategy on ESDinclusive and
participatory process

• Ministries of Environment
• Ministries of Education (relevant state bodies)
• Other Ministries (should involved)
• International Organisations (UNESCO, Council of
  Europe, WHO, OECD, FAO, others)
• NGOs
• Private Sector (???)
• Secretariat is provided by the UNECE
• www.unece.org/env
• (click on Education for SD)

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UNECE ESD Strategy framework for action

• Vision statement
• Aim and objectives
• Scope
• ESD Principles
• Implications for education
• Framework for implementation (National Action
  Plans on ESD areas for action international
  cooperation, responsibilities financial matters)
• Evaluation and timetable (review process, EPRs,
  country and NGO reports, etc.)

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Where are we now?

• October 2003 UNECE Committee on Environmental
  Policy (CEP) established ESD Task Force
• February 2004 First Regional meeting on ESD
• July 2004 Second Regional meeting on ESD
• October 2004 UNECE CEP welcomed (USA blocked
  the consensus on adoption, but not stoped)
• March 2005 High Level Meeting should adopt the
  Strategy
• Lobbying and support by NGOs needed!!!!

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UNECE Strategy on ESDimplementation

• National specificity
• Developing cooperation btw governments, IGOs,
  stakeholders
• ESD needs assessment (focus on EECCA and SEE)
• Coordinated by UNECE Secretariat, involving
  UNESCO, OSCE, others (where is UNEP???)
• Coordination and synergies to other regional and
  subregional initiatives
• Role of UNEP as a leading agency on EE pillar -
  we may address and promote

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UNECE Strategy on ESDimplementation (2)

• Sub-regional workshops on implementation
• Compilation of good practices, Web-portal
• Assessment of progress
• -every 3rd year (from 2006) joint session of
  the CEP and representatives of Education
  Ministers on assessment of the implementation
• -2007 6th Ministerial EfE Conference
  (progress reports by States and NGOs)
• -EPRs (UNECE and OECD)
• -expert group on indicators

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ESD Practice and Priorities in the UNECE Region

• ECO-Forum Study
• Living Earth Foundation (UK),
• ECO-Accord Centre (Russia),
• Borrowed Nature Association (Bulgaria)
• Supported by DEFRA
• http//accord.cis.lead.org/english/edu/

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ECO-Forum StudyEmerging Themes

• Defining ESD
• The Place for ESD in Formal Education
• Formal/Non-formal Links
• Implementation Structures
• Capacity Building
• Resources
• The Next Phase - UNECE Regional Study on ESD
  needs and good practices

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What we can do to support ESD in Europe and
globally?

• Initiate or/and support national action plans
  development and implementation
• Creating national ESD multistakeholder platforms
• Lobbying (for UNECE Strategy on ESD and other
  regional Strategies, national implementation,
  etc.)
• Improve international cooperation and push UNESCO
  to active DESD implementation
• Take a lead and involve economic and social
  sectors
• Develop materials and raise awareness

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ESD and UNEP Work Programme

• Address ESD as a key to
• transition to sustainable development (SPAC,
  MDGs, gender, cultural diversity, poverty, etc.)
• Ensuring UNEP active involvement in ESD
  implementation and leading role on environmental
  pillar
• Identify UNEP focal points at all levels
• Use GEO for education
• Other ideas discuss now and further.

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Take action!

• lobby, develop, publish, disseminate
  materials, facilitate cooperation

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European ECO-Forum

• UNECE Strategy on ESD information and discussion
• Education-EfE_at_yahoogroups.com
• Education Issue Group
• education_at_eco-forum.org
• To get involved send e-mail to
• velias_at_mail.ru